P i a n o
by cannedviennasausage
Summary: Initially, they were at opposite ends. Over time, however, the distance between them shortened and they could see every detail of each other.    Some oneshot fluff I wrote from caving into peer pressure.


P i a n o

It was sweet.

The sound the keys made in the air of such a chilly afternoon was sweet. To him, at least.

Winter would not be due for another two months, but it was already making its presence known inside the walls of the white castle Vaati now resided in. It had been a good two years since he'd been outmatched by Link and Ezlo, and after much thought and consideration from the King, he was given the benefit of the doubt. Not without some monitoring, of course, but it was refreshing to know _some _people trusted him. Having nearly destroyed an entire country—himself included—often made one reconsider his life choices.

He paused his quiet reading for a moment and listened. Faint notes echoed through the walls of the building. Zelda was playing a simple waltz. Simple, yet so very soothing.

He looked down at the book was was reading again. Five pages later, he felt his eyelids were drooping so he reasoned to close the (rather massive) tome he had propped on his crossed legs and stand up to stretch. Maybe walk a little.

The piece Zelda was playing proceeded uninterrupted. She was _good. _Vaati let a faint smile creep up on his face as he walked down one of the numerous hallways inside the castle towards the source of the sound. Usually some random guard would periodically burst in to inform the Royal Family of a spontaneous occurrence, but this entire week had proceeded uneventfully, so Vaati figured Zelda had decided to treat herself to some leisure, in lieu of her usual responsibilities.

The notes grew louder as he neared their source. As he went down a flight of stairs his fingers tapped the handrails, mimicking piano playing as the waltz progressed. He turned a corner after the stairs.

And there she was.

Zelda's fingers moved elegantly across the keys and she rocked her head slightly from side to side in time with the music. Her bright blonde hair lay loosely on her shoulders and poured down her back, having only a small section tied with a light blue ribbon. The back of the skirt of her light blue gown hung behind the stool, occasionally lifting up with the light breezes the autumn air carried through the windows.

She looked _really _good in blue.

Vaati approached her silently, his hands holding his book behind his back, and leaned over her left shoulder.

Zelda spotted the faint shadow Vaati cast over the piano keys and stopped playing to look up at a pair of red eyes regarding her.

"Mind if I join?" he asked.

Zelda let herself smile at the offer. "You may," she answered coyly. Over time, they'd developed this ironically formal way of communicating. Link tended to respond to these exchanges by rolling his huge eyes, which often resulted in a giggle from Zelda. She slid to the right of the stool, tidying up her skirt as she did so.

Upon sitting next to her, he picked up the faint scent of lavender. She resumed playing nonchalantly, albeit at a slower tempo, evidently inviting him to play along. Vaati gave her a curious look, then proceeded to stretch his fingers over his side of the keyboard. He joined in seamlessly, contributing lower notes to the melody Zelda was playing.

"You're really good at this," Zelda said, giggling.

"It's kind of a cultural thing for Minish to pick up on Hylian hobbies. What with being their 'little helpers' and the like," Vaati replied. "Of course, the little Minish pianos don't sound nearly as"—he pressed a particularly deep key—"imposing."

They resumed playing in silence for a few more minutes. Zelda glanced occasionally at the music sheet in front of her, never falling out of rhythm. Vaati knew this particular piece by heart so he didn't find it necessary to even look at the sheet.

Or at the keys.

No, his eyes were fixed on something much more sublime and beautiful than either of those things. Some_one _more beautiful. The way her hair framed her face when viewed in profile; how the light blue of her gown subtly highlighted the rosiness of her cheeks, the plumpness of her lips. The faint scent of lavender she gave off. Those large blue eyes that once looked at him with fear and now offered affection.

The piece ended. Vaati lowered his hands from the keyboard. Zelda, however, remained staring at the music sheet, her hands still on them. She turned to look at him and received a perplexed stare in return. "What is it?" he asked.

Zelda edged closer to him. "Nothing," she replied. Vaati didn't move from his spot, instead glancing at the music sheet.

A warm hand placed itself on his left cheek and turned his face to Zelda's. She then leaned in and kissed him. Lightly at first, gradually deepening as she let her hand slide off his face and down his chest. He reciprocated the gesture by running his fingers through her hair, settling one hand behind her neck and the other clasping hers, which had come to rest on his thigh.

After what seemed like several minutes, Zelda parted her lips from Vaati's. They opened their eyes and stared at each other, their faces barely an inch apart, feeling each other's breath on the other.

Distant footsteps grew louder until a guard appeared at the door of the room.

"Highness, Minister Potho requests your presence," he said, standing rigid as a board by the door.

Zelda looked up at him. "Alright, I'm coming," she said, mildly exasperated. Minister Potho had built a somewhat notorious reputation for calling her for the most menial things.

She got up from the stool, gliding her right hand across Vaati's shoulders. He placed his hand on hers, which made her stop for a moment and look back at him and smile before he slid her hand off hers and she exited the room escorted by the guard.

The feeling of her lips on his lingered.

It was sweet.

So very, very sweet.


End file.
